I'm going to leave my A/N for after this chapter, since I am so late on updating!
Disclaimer: Don't own Pokemon.
Claimer: Yeah yeah, you already know. Now on with the chapter!
Chapter Nine: Losing Trust
August 6 – 1:49PM – Littleroot Grocery Store, Littleroot Town, Hoenn
Ruby sighed as she and Dawn placed a pile of food on the cashier's counter. They had been there for almost an hour collecting food so that May wouldn't eat through all of the snacks that were in the kitchen cabinets.
The cashier quickly dove down as a plum rolled off the edge of the counter.
"How did you know to get this plum? It's practically perfect!" She gasped as she stared in admiration at the purple fruit.
The cashier had curly bright turquoise hair pulled up into two high pigtails. She looked to be around the age of sixteen. The cashier looked up from the amazing fruit and stared oddly at Ruby.
She stood up straighter and said, "You're Ruby Birch, right?"
Ruby wasn't surprised that the cashier knew her name. A lot of the locals knew who she was since she was related to Professor Birch, and used to visit often. "Yes, I am."
"I'm so sorry your boyfriend did that to you." The cashier said, her periwinkle eyes sadly watching Ruby as she started to scan the food.
"What boyfriend did what to me?" Ruby asked, raising an eyebrow.
Dawn faced her friend and asked, "You have a boyfriend? Does Lucas know about this?"
Ruby frowned and said, "I don't have a boyfriend, Dawn."
"Ah, playing dumb so the media doesn't get anything out of you. Good plan." The cashier smiled to herself as her eyes glanced down at the magazine resting next to her register. She placed the food in plastic bags as she continued examining the page.
Ruby turned her attention back the turquoise-haired cashier. Handing over some money to pay for her purchase, she started talking softly but gradually got louder. "Not trying to sound rude but, what the hell are you talking about?!"
"You mean you don't know?" The cashier asked as she handed Ruby and Dawn the large bags.
Ruby faked a smile and sarcastically said, "No, what made you think that –" She looked at the cashier's name tag. "–Zella?"
Zella laughed and held her magazine up so Ruby could see what she had been reading. "The newest edition of Coordinator's Weekly might tell you something new."
"Coordinator's Weekly? Let me see that." Ruby said as she grabbed the magazine. "I'm a Pokemon Trainer. What would I be doing in Coordinator–"
She stopped talking as she read the article on the page. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened in great shock. Still holding the magazine, Ruby dashed out of the store.
Zella stared after the twelve year old and shouted, "I could steal my boyfriend's taxi and give you a ride if you'd like!"
Dawn sweat dropped as she held her hands up reassuringly and said, "No, it's okay."
Zella blinked and smiled. "Well, have a great day!"
The eleven year old smiled back and ran out of the store.
"Ruby!" Dawn called as she chased after her friend. "Why are we running?"
"We need to tell Drew that this was all a huge mistake and Brendan had nothing to do with this!" She shouted as she threw the flimsy magazine back at Dawn and continued running down the street towards the Littleroot Spas and Resort.
"What are you talking..." Dawn started, but caught the magazine and quickly read the page. Her reaction was the same as Ruby's. She followed her friend to the resort, running as fast as she could.
2:00PM – Littleroot Spas and Resort, Littleroot Town, Hoenn
Ruby and Dawn dashed into the Littleroot Spas Resort, and ran up to the front desk. A young woman in her twenties stood behind the bamboo desk.
She smiled as the two came up to her. "Hello! Welcome to Littleroot Spas and Resort! What can I do for you today?"
Ruby slammed her hand on the counter as she gasped for breath. Between pants she managed to say, "Tell me... what room... Drew Des Rosiérs is in."
The lady beamed and squealed, "Drew Des Rosiérs?! He's here?! Oh. My. God. He's so hot isn't he?!"
Dawn and Ruby sweat dropped and laughed nervously.
He's just as hot as that disgusting perfume you have on every square inch of your body. What is that? Rear end of the Muk? God, give me a break. Ruby thought to herself. But instead of saying that out loud and most likely getting herself kicked out of the building, she sarcastically said, "Yeah...right. So, could you tell us what room he's in?"
The large grin didn't leave the receptionist's face as she typed things into her computer. Her spring green eyes scanned the glowing computer screen and she smiled wider as she said, "He's registered into the penthouse on the top floor."
"Thank you!" Ruby called as she quickly lead Dawn to the elevator.
Dawn pressed the button with an arrow pointing up, and the two waited.
After three minutes, Ruby groaned, "This is taking forever! Come on Dawn, we're taking the stairs."
The blue-haired girl looked at the door at the end of the hallway labeled "Stairs".
"How many floors are there in this hotel?" Dawn asked as Ruby passed her and opened up the door.
"I'm guessing somewhere around ten." Ruby said as she placed a foot on the first step.
"Ten?!" Dawn exclaimed. "How will we climb up all those flights?"
Ruby turned to her friend and sarcastically said, "First, you place one foot on one step. Then you shift your weight, and then repeat."
Dawn frowned and Ruby smiled back. "We'll just need to get a move on."
"Fine," Dawn sighed as she followed Ruby up the stairs.
2:16PM – Littleroot Spas and Resort, Littleroot Town, Hoenn
"We've climbed... five flights of stairs... Can we rest Ruby?" Dawn asked, as she slowly pulled her feet up the steps and leaned against the hand railing.
Ruby looked down at her from the top of the next flight. "You're out of shape, Dawn. We are going to use these stairs and get to the top of this building."
"But Ruby..." Dawn groaned.
"No buts." Ruby snapped. "Now hurry up. We need to tell Drew that it was all an accident!"
2:20PM – Littleroot Spas and Resort, Littleroot Town, Hoenn
As the two reached the seventh floor Dawn gasped, "Look! The elevator!"
Ruby followed Dawn's line of vision and saw that the elevator doors were open.
"We're not taking the elevator Dawn. Come on, we're on a roll right now. Only three floors left until we reach the penthouse!" Ruby exclaimed as she pushed Dawn up the stairs.
2:28PM – Littleroot Spas and Resort, Littleroot Town, Hoenn
"There's the door to Drew's penthouse!" Ruby said as she ran down the hallway and stopped in front of a door labeled "Penthouse".
Dawn followed suit but instead of stopping in front of the door like Ruby had, her boots lost grip and she skidded down the waxed floor.
The eleven year old screamed and flailed her arms in the air as she slid down the hallway on one foot.
Ruby turned around and looked at her friend sitting in a heap at the end of the hallway. "Dawn, nows not the time to be Mankey-ing around!"
"A little help would be nice." Dawn snapped as she pushed her body off of the floor with her arms.
"You can't rely on me for everything." Ruby stated as she started knocking on Drew's door.
Dawn stomped over to Ruby who was still knocking on the cream painted door. She huffed, "Great. Now my hair is ruined."
Ruby raised an eyebrow as she continued knocking on the door. "You shouldn't even worry about your hair. You are not in love with Drew. Because if you were, I would have May help me kill you."
The blue-haired girl gasped and said, "I don't! I like Pa–"
"And if you like my cousin, you better quit." Ruby took her hand off of the door, and pointed a finger at Dawn. Her knuckles were red as she stepped closer to the younger girl and growled, "I will not allow you to date Brendan. Unless you want to get to heaven earlier than expected. Got it?"
Dawn timidly nodded her head yes. Ruby glared at her before turning back to the door. She raised her fist to knock on the door again, when it opened.
The green-haired boy frowned as his emerald eyes landed on the twelve year old in front of him. "What do you want now?"
"I need to tell you something!" Ruby exclaimed as she turned to Dawn. "Let him see the magazine."
Dawn pulled the magazine out of her backpack. As the large words, "Coordinator's Weekly" came into view, Drew smirked, "So you want my autograph, now do you?"
Ruby and Dawn both rolled their eyes and simultaneously said, "Ew! No."
"Open it up to page twenty-six." Ruby commanded as Dawn handed the magazine to Drew.
Drew flipped through the flimsy pages. It was probably another tabloid about how great he was, or something relevant to that matter. He opened up to the page that Ruby had requested and his heart stopped for a second as the large title was spread out across the two pages.
Littleroot Town, or Two-Timing Town: Could the Two Hottest Coordinators in Hoenn be the Two Hottest Two-Timers in Hoenn?
The day after our last edition was sent out to the market, a source spotted Drew Des Rosiérs and May Maple running away from a crowd of vicious fans. Hand in hand.
A picture showing the two said coordinators was posted right to the left of the excerpt.
It seemed like emotions had risen between these two rivals. Both have been named the Hottest Coordinators in Hoenn. But just a day later, Miss Maple was seen making out with Professor Birch's son, Brendan Birch, at a river near Littleroot Town.
Next to that part of the article was a picture of May and Brendan. It had been taken on the day when Brendan had saved her life. The picture showed May lying on her back, holding the back of his neck as their lips were touching.
Ruby watched Drew's face closely, for any signs of jealousy, or his heart breaking. He kept a straight face as he continued reading.
Great, he's hiding his emotions. And he's good at it... Ruby thought to herself. Although she couldn't see it, she had a feeling that Drew's heart was being shattered to pieces at the moment.
She stepped over and stood next to him as she read the article too. When Zella had shown it to her, Ruby had only seen the part about May and Brendan.
A couple days later, an anonymous source spotted Drew Des Rosiérs at local romance spot, Rosa Park. He wasn't alone though. With him, was Professor Birch's niece, Ruby Birch. The two were seen having a long conversation, and standing atop a hill that overlooked the town of Littleroot.
"What?!" Ruby shrieked as the other two winced. Her crimson eyes shot a glance towards the picture in the margin.
There was a picture of the fourteen and twelve year old standing on top of the hill. Ruby was giggling along with her Vulpix, as Drew's face seemed to be blank, although it was hard to tell since the picture seemed to have been taken from a distance.
"Who in their right mind would think I'd actually date Pervert Boy?! People would have to be delirious to believe that." Ruby stated as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
Drew flicked his hair and said, "Most girls would love to date me. You should be honored that people think you'd be good enough."
Ruby rolled her eyes. "Shut up, Pervy. I already have someone, thank you very much."
The two continued reading as Dawn ran up to a mirror hanging on the hallway wall, carrying a brush.
But the young ruby-eyed sweetheart wasn't the only lucky girl who was seen with Drew at Rosa Park. The next day May Maple – the girl who was seen first with Des Rosiérs, then with Birch – arrived on the scene. Our inside source (who asked to remain nameless) said that the two shared a romantic evening. And almost shared some saliva as well.
A picture larger than all the others was right underneath the paragraph about the two coordinator's most recent get together. There they were. May and Drew, just centimeters away from kissing.
Ruby smirked as she nudged Drew, who glared back at her.
Ruby said in a dramatic tone, "You were so close, yet so far away at the same time."
"Ugh! Stupid hair..." Dawn could be heard groaning as she called her Piplup out of his pokeball. "Piplup, use Bubble Beam please."
A multitude of bubbles filled the hallway and open doorway.
"Dawn!" Ruby whined from the doorway to the penthouse. "I told you that you could only do that kind of stuff outside!"
Dawn giggled as she twirled around, admiring her reflection in the mirror. "Sorry Ruby, but my hair is just so wonderful now, isn't it?"
"It'll never be as great as mine." Drew scoffed as he ran his fingers through his hair.
Ruby rolled her eyes as she groaned, "Hair addicts..."
She turned back to Drew, who's eyes had wandered back to the magazine. "Listen, I know how you must be feeling right now, but –"
"You'll never know how I'm feeling right now. It's so embarrassing to have the world think I'm dating..." He glanced at Ruby and said in a voice full of disgust, "You."
Ruby stepped back and said in her snottiest tone, "Well, at least I'm not jealous of every boy that gets close to my rival."
Drew looked away as he took a deep breath. He was hoping she wouldn't bring this up. That was why he had been avoiding talking about anything May-related.
"Tell the truth, Grassy." Ruby said, as she glared at the older boy. "You are jealous that May kissed Brendan and not you."
Drew still stayed silent. He knew what he could say, but hell. Anything that he said to this girl always changed its meaning once it entered her head.
"And let me tell you this. It wasn't Brendan who did any of the kissing." Ruby said, squinting her eyes at Drew.
Silence.
"May gave it all, one-hundred percent. So don't go off and beat up my cousin, because he didn't do a thing. All he did, was give her CPR because she almost drowned in the river. Before he knew it, she was kissing him. And don't say I'm lying, because Brendan told me face to face. And he would never lie to me."
Silence.
"So you're not giving me an answer, are you?" Ruby asked as she stepped back into the hallway and snatched the magazine back into her own hands. "Well, I have an answer for you."
She faced the green-haired boy and glared a hole straight into his pupils with her blood red eyes. "If you hurt Brendan, you can say good-bye to your pretty face."
Ruby kept her glare on Drew as she motioned Dawn to follow her towards the elevator.
When the two girls had disappeared behind the elevator doors, Drew went back into his room. He let out a loud sigh as he locked the door to his penthouse. Turning on his heel, he walked up to the table next to his bed and grabbed a pokeball. Training always took his mind off of other things.
2:47PM – Birch Guest House, Littleroot Town, Hoenn
The brunette hummed a happy tune as she walked up to the ringing video phone in the living room.
She didn't know why, but she had been in a bubbly mood all day. Misty, who had stayed home with her, kept asking May if she was okay. Her sapphire eyes seemed to have a dazed look.
May had received Blaziken back from the Pokemon Center that morning. Nurse Joy had changed her hair back to match her cousins', and it seemed like her cold had vanished. May thought this was a little weird, but didn't comment on the woman's sudden change in appearance.
Misty thought that May was just worried about Blaziken. But he was just fine. As soon as May got back to the house, she had let him out of his pokeball. Seeing that he was in good health, May had him stay out of his pokeball for a while. But after getting into a fight with Ruby's Infernape, he had been asleep in his pokeball all afternoon.
The truth was, May's mind was racing with all the events that happened the night before. She would only become bubbly when she thought about the moment atop the hill. She let out a lovesick sigh before she pressed the talk button on the phone.
"Hello?" She asked in an airy tone.
"Wow May, wait till Dad hears that you have two boyfriends!" The voice on the other line said through laughs as it brought May back to Earth.
She looked at her little brother oddly. "Excuse me?"
"I never knew you and Brendan would get together! I mean, yeah you guys have been friends for ever, but I never knew it would get this far!" He exclaimed.
"Me and Brendan? What are you talking about?!" May asked but Max continued talking.
"And well, I knew you and Drew would do something sometime in your life. I mean, normal rivals don't give each other roses."
"Max!" May shouted as she grabbed the sides of the screen. "What are you talking about?!"
Her little brother continued laughing as he held up a copy of Coordinator's Weekly. Spread out on the page was pictures of May, Drew, Brendan, and Ruby.
Brock appeared on screen next to Max. He sighed and said, "May... I thought you said you wouldn't do anything attention-worthy."
"What did I do?!" May practically screamed, annoyed at the fact that they weren't telling her what they were talking about.
"But I never thought that Ruby would date Drew." Max laughed even harder.
May gasped and said softly, "What?"
"We're back!" Came a voice from the front door. May turned around so that she was face to face with the two girls who had entered the house.
Hearing the laughter coming from the phone, Ruby asked, "What's so funny?"
May stared at the girl in front of her. After all the teasing she did to her and Drew, Ruby went on a date with him?
"Ruby... How could you...?" The brunette asked, feeling a knot being tied in her throat.
Ruby's eyes widened as she remembered what she had read from the magazine. If May had also seen it... "No, May! Please do not tell me that you believe what that stupid magazine said!"
May stepped closer to the younger girl and said, "How could you do this to me, Ruby?! I trusted you, and not only do you take pictures of me and Brendan and Drew, but you go on a date with Drew?!"
"Wait," Ruby held her hands in front of her and asked, "Are you accusing me of the things in the magazine?"
"What do you think I'm doing?" May placed her hands on her hips as she frowned. "Drooling over a picture of Drew?"
Ruby smiled as she suddenly became calmer. "You can do that later May. But right now, you need to answer my question."
"I am answering your question!" May shouted.
"No you're not. Think May. Why in the world would I ever date Pervert Boy, when I'm in love with Lucas?"
May stepped closer as she growled, "I don't care who you like. I could care less if you were dating Paul."
Dawn, who was on her way back to the bedroom, stopped suddenly. Misty came out of the bathroom and stood next to Dawn. They were out of sight from the two bickering girls, but could hear them loud and clear.
Ruby stepped back as a disgusted look came to her face. "Ew! I hate him! That's why we are rivals. Rivals hate each other. They don't love each other!"
"So you're saying that me and Drew can't love each other because we're rivals? And because of that, it's okay for you to date him?"
"No! I –" Ruby cut herself off as a slow grin appeared on her face. "Did you just confess your love for him?"
"What?!" May shrieked, her face turning a deep red. "That has nothing to do with this!"
Ruby jumped up and down as she giggled, "Yes, you said you love him! You've finally confessed!"
"I did not! Now tell me why you told this magazine all these lies!" May demanded.
Ruby felt slightly frightened from the sudden anger in the brunette's voice. "May, just –"
May frowned as she interrupted the red-haired girl. "What? Did you really think dating Drew would make the world a better place?"
"No, but making you not believe the magazine will! First of all, why would I call you a two-timer when I know you aren't?" Ruby asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well... Maybe you took pictures of me and Brendan and Drew, because you wanted to make me look bad! You are always trying to find some way to embarrass me!" May whined, her hands curling into fists.
Ruby stayed calm. "How would I be able to take the pictures?"
May thought for a second and then said, "Maybe you have little camera in that necklace of yours!"
The twelve year old laughed as she placed her hand on the ruby sun pendant that Lucas had given her not long ago and said, "You're kidding right? If I did take those pictures, then how did I take the one of me and Drew? That picture was taken from probably fifty feet away."
"You probably got someone to take the picture! That way you could make a bigger story!" May said, stomping her feet on the carpeted hallway.
Ruby frowned and asked, "You really think I would sink that low?"
May groaned and placed her head in her hands, "I don't know, Ruby! But I told you not to come yesterday, and you did anyway! I just can't trust you anymore!"
"Well, what if I'm telling the truth, huh?" Ruby's voice raised up in volume as she stepped closer to the brunette. "And since you can't trust me anymore, I'll just leave!"
"And where do you think you'll go?" May asked, her anger still noticeable in her words.
Ruby scoffed. "To Brendan's house, duh. I'm not going to stay with your gay boyfriend."
"Harley's not my boyfriend!" May shrieked, glaring at the red-head.
"I was talking about Drew, idiot." She said the last part under her breath.
Although May didn't hear the last word, she stated still glaring at Ruby, "Drew is not gay."
"How do you know? Do you stalk him?" Ruby asked, her ruby eyes clashing with May's sapphire ones.
As May opened her mouth, Ruby held her hand up and said, "Don't answer that. And before I leave, I have a few things to say."
May closed her mouth but continued glaring as she let her best friend's cousin speak.
"First of all, only a delirious idiot would believe that stupid gossip magazine." Ruby started, glaring a hole into May's face. Seeing fury run through May's blue eyes, Ruby tauntingly added, "Oh yeah. I went there."
The twelve year old started walking down the hallway towards the bedroom, but stopped and turned around.
"And you should also know that the world doesn't revolve around you." Ruby said, pointing a finger at the brunette. "Do you even wonder how Drew might be feeling right now?"
May gasped and as she irately thrust the front door open and ran outside. She had to get to Drew, and tell him the truth.
Misty looked around the hallway and saw the video phone still on in the living room. Running towards it, she saw Max on the screen, a shocked expression on his young face.
"I'm sorry you had to hear that, Max." Misty said softly.
"I... never knew how..." Max started.
Misty gave him a small smile and said, "Let it all out Max."
"I never knew how... Mean Ruby could be to my sister!" He finished, but added. "I need to get some lessons from her."
The older girl sweat dropped as she groaned, "Goodbye Max."
2:57PM – Littleroot Town, Hoenn
The blue sky turned a light gray as rain clouds started to appear. May dashed down the street. If what the magazine said was true – Which it is, May reminded herself – and if Drew had already seen it – I bet he has – then Rayquaza knows what he thought about May right now.
The brunette felt the stares that she was receiving from the pedestrians around her. They had probably read the magazine too, and either felt sorry for her, or hated her.
May quickened her pace, trying to escape the evil stares. She had to find Drew before it started raining.
As she walked passed the entrance to Rosa Park, she heard a voice command from afar, "Roselia, Petal Dance!"
Looking into the park, May saw the green-haired boy and his Roselia being surrounded by vibrant pink flower petals. May ran through the entrance and up to the two. In her happiest tone, she said, "Hey Drew!"
3:02PM – Birch Guest House, Littleroot Town, Hoenn
"Ruby, do you really think leaving is a good idea?" Misty asked as she watched the young girl place her items into a small suitcase.
"Well, ask yourself this," Ruby turned and faced the orange-haired teenager. "Would you enjoy living in the same house as someone who can't trust you, and will probably be watching your every move from now on?"
Dawn sent a confused look to her traveling companion and said, "But Ruby, you've practically been watching May's every move since she arrived. Isn't that the same reason why you're leaving?"
"I wasn't watching her to make sure she didn't start lies about me. I was watching her to make sure that she didn't make a fool out of herself in front of her boyfriend. That's my job." Ruby stated smugly.
"So you're just going to leave without even trying to make May believe you?" Misty asked.
Ruby zipped her bag closed and sighed. "I already tried that. She won't believe me. Maybe if you guys tried to tell her, she might realize what a stupid mistake she made and become one of my best friends again."
Dawn looked around the room. It seemed a little cleaner now that all the Flannery posters and pokedolls had been packed away. "What are you going to do now?"
"I definatley won't be helping May with her boy troubles. Look where that landed me. I think I'll try and find out who started those rumors in the magazine." Ruby added thoughtfully.
"How do you suppose you'll do that?" Misty inquired as she looked at the magazine that was sitting on the small table next to May's bed.
"If you know anything about gossip, you should know that to stop it, you have to go to the main source. And to find the main source, you ask the person who informed you, where they heard it from. That goes on for a few people until you finally find the person who started the rumor." Ruby said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Now because we saw this in the magazine, I'll just call the customer service number. Hopefully they'll be able to tell me where they got their information from."
Misty put a finger to her chin and said, "I guess that could work. Well, good luck!"
The twelve year old looked over at Misty and said, "You're not going to help me?"
"Well after all this, May is probably going to be a wreck." Misty said as a worried look etched its way on to her face.
"Not to mention what might happen while she's talking to Drew..." Dawn thought of the possibilities of what Drew could say to May. Seventy-five percent of what she had thought Drew could say would probably end up with May crying.
Ruby picked up her bags and smiled at the other two girls. "I'm sure May will be fine. It's just Drew. And from the past few days of knowing him, I know that he's good at hiding his feelings. He won't break May's heart unless he like... cracks or something."
She walked out of the room and as she approached the front door she shouted, "Remember that if you need me, I'll be right across the street!"
Hearing the door close, Dawn turned to Misty. "Do you think Ruby will be able to find out who started this whole mess?"
"She seems pretty confident. But it will take a while. The article says that the person who told them asked to be left unnamed. She'll have to go through a lot of files to find out exactly who it was. And even that might take forever. I doubt the editors will actually give her the name." Misty said as she looked up at the ceiling, wondering who could possibly want to ruin May and Drew's reputation.
3:02PM – Rosa Park, Littleroot Town, Hoenn
The green-haired coordinator glanced coolly at the brunette walking up to him. "Hey May,"
"Um, your Roselia seems strong." May said as her eyes wandered to the large rose Pokemon standing next to the boy.
"She's always been strong compared to your Pokemon." Drew sneered as he flicked his hair.
May pouted, "Hey! My Pokemon are strong too!"
Drew ignored her sudden shout out and asked, "Why are you here anyways? Stalking me? I've been seeing you almost everywhere I go. Can't stay away from me?"
"No!" May exclaimed while her face turned a faint shade of red. "I just came to tell you something!"
Drew chuckled at the sight of her blush. "What is it? You want to be a great coordinator as me? Sorry, I don't teach,"
"Uh...No...But you know the magazine called Coordinator Weekly right?" May asked as the clouds slowly started to let a soft drizzle of rain fall.
"Of course I do. I'm in it every week." Drew replied with a hair flick.
May twitched as she shouted, "Stop being so big-headed and let me tell you something!"
"Whatever. What was it you were trying to tell me?"
The brunette looked down at her hands trying to think of the right way to say what was on her mind. If she said it wrong, something bad might happen.
"Well... Since you know the magazine very well, you've probably already read that little thing in the newest issue about me and you and a few other people. And I know that it's really embarrassing and stuff, but I just want you to know that I didn't mean for those things to happen, and it was all an accident and –"
Drew held up his hand and silenced the babbling brunette from saying more. Closing his eyes he muttered, "I don't need to hear it May."
May's eyes grew in surprise, "You don't?"
The green-haired boy smirked a bit as the rain started to come down a little harder. "I've heard it all,"
May scrunched her face in confusion then asked, "So you understand what I'm saying?"
"Of course I do. Now if you'll please excuse me, I have some training to do." He stated with a slight edge in his voice.
Roselia looked up at her trainer with concern in her small black eyes. She softly whispered, "Sel...(Drew)"
"But don't you even care about it?" May asked.
Drew squinted his eyes slightly, "Why would I? It's not like you mean anything to me. You're just a rival... A weak rival."
At those words, it felt like a knife had gone through May's heart. The rain drops that were falling on to her pale skin felt like hail, as her eyes started to water.
"Do you really mean that?" She whispered, as she stared down at the grass and clenched her fists.
"What do you think?" He sneered as he flicked his wet green hair off of his face.
Roselia glared at her trainer and glanced at the brunette who was on the verge of tears. Drew didn't know how bad he was hurting May right now. So much anger had built up in him since earlier that day, that he had to take it all out on the poor brunette.
Without looking at the girl in front of him, Drew turned on his heel and muttered a "See ya," as he walked away. Roselia obediently followed, and left the crying brunette.
May stood in her spot as she made up a conclusion in her mind. Not only did Ruby hate her, but now Drew did too.
Turning around, May dashed out of the park and towards the building that she had visited three years ago to claim her first Pokemon. She didn't even care that her clothes, hair, and face were getting soaked with rain and tears, she just needed to see the person who could help her the most at a time like this.
3:30PM – Professor Birch's Lab, Littleroot Town, Hoenn
Professor Daniel Birch grabbed his large brown canvas bag and a rain jacket as he stepped towards the door leading out of his lab. Today he was going to examine how rock-type Pokemon acted in the rain. He opened the door and smiled at the person who stood in front of him.
"May! How great it is to see you again!" He exclaimed as she took her hand away from the doorbell. She was just about to press it when the Professor opened the door.
"Um, hi Professor... Is Brendan here?" May asked, avoiding Professor Birch's eyes.
"Yes, he's in the room to the right." The man answered as he stepped out of the doorway, allowing the soaked brunette to step inside the lab.
"Thanks," May mumbled as she quickly made her way to the room that Professor Birch had directed her to. Her tears had slowed down, but a few managed to leak out every few minutes.
She walked down the plain white hallway until she came to a door. On the wall next to it was a sign that read, "Lab Room A".
May took in a deep breath as she slowly opened the door. She heard two people talking in the room. She recognized one voice as Brendan's, but the other wasn't familiar.
"I think it would just be easier if we gave the Feebas some pokeblocks. Everyone knows that that method works, and it would be much faster."
"But your Dad wants to know how Feebas evolve from such an ugly scrawny thing to a large magnificent Milotic the natural way." The voice was slightly high pitched. The person talking to Brendan was probably a girl.
May opened the door further and stepped into the room. She looked over at the two people surrounding a tank full of water, with their backs to May. She automatically recognized Brendan, and looked at the girl standing next to him. The girl had long, slightly curly dark brown hair, and was holding a clipboard from what May could tell. She looked like she was about May's age.
"Brendan?" May spoke up, her voice slightly cracking.
Brendan turned around and looked at his friend. "Hey May," He then saw her blood shot eyes and asked, "May, what's wrong?"
The girl next to him turned around and asked, "Brendan, who's this?"
"Listen Nicole, can we continue this later? My friend really needs me." Brendan whispered to the girl.
A flash of bother appeared behind Nicole's golden irises as she quickly glanced at May, but returned her attention to the boy next to her. Gathering her papers and writing utensils, Nicole whispered back, "Okay, I'll be in Room B. Just come get me when you're done."
As the dark-haired girl exited the room, Brendan slowly walked up to May.
After he had taken only two steps, the brunette burst into tears as she ran up to the white-haired boy and buried her wet head into the front of his lab coat.
"May, what's wrong?" Brendan calmly asked as he rubbed her rain-soaked back.
"You're the only one who doesn't hate me," May blubbered as her tears seeped through the white polyester fabric of Brendan's coat.
Hearing this, Brendan lead the weeping brunette to a bench against the wall of the room. Sitting down next to her, he asked, "Why does everyone hate you?"
"Because..." May started, looking up at his concerned face. She blinked as she looked away and whimpered, "No, I shouldn't tell you. You'll probably hate me too."
The boy held her shoulders and gently made May look at him. Staring into her blue, tear filled eyes he softly whispered, "May, I'll never hate you. I will always love you."
For some reason, that made a small part of the pain in May's heart fade. There was silence between the two friends before May wiped the salty tears out of her eyes, smiled and giggled, "I know, Brendan."
"You do?" He asked with a tone of surprise. Was he really as obvious as Ruby had said?
May's smile grew as she hugged Brendan and squealed, "Of course! Best friends are supposed to love each other!"
She didn't see the uneasy smile cross his face as he laughed nervously. "No I mean, I love you... More than a friend."
The brunette slightly gasped as she quickly pulled away from her friend. Her fingers nervously played with a thread hanging off the hem of her shirt as she said, "Oh... Um... I don't really know what to say,"
Brendan opened his mouth to say something but May quickly said, "Look Brendan, I don't think we should go out... I mean, I like you and all, but if something happened while we were dating, it could ruin our whole friendship. So, I think we should just be friends."
The white-haired boy's shoulders slightly slumped as he looked away and muttered, "Oh... Okay, then..."
An awkward silence fell between the two friends as they looked at everything in the room except for each other.
May stood up as she wiped her palms on her skirt and muttered, "I should probably be getting back to the house now,"
Brendan got up as well and shrugged off his lab coat. Hanging it up on a hook on the lab wall, he said, "I'll walk you home."
"Thanks," May mumbled as she stepped out of the room, following Brendan.
As the duo walked out of the building, neither one noticed the pair of gold eyes that were watching them from afar.
"I guess it's true..." Nicole sighed as she sadly watched Brendan leave with May.
4:02PM – Birch Guest House, Littleroot Town, Hoenn
The walk was quiet and short. Short because Brendan's houses were only a couple blocks away from the lab. Quiet, because neither one really knew what to talk about after the slightly embarrassing confession back in Lab Room A.
"We still haven't really caught up with each other yet," May said as they walked up to the front door of the guest house.
"Yeah, maybe we can do that sometime tomorrow?" Brendan asked.
May smiled a small smile as she opened up the door. "I'd like that. Thanks Brendan,"
Brendan smiled back at her as he walked down the pathway after May had closed the door.
This was going to be one long week.
...After so long, it is finally done. -sigh- You guys, I am so sorry this took forever. At first I was just having a hard time making up things. And then I went on to procrastinating. But now it's posted... Please don't hurt me for being a month late.
So Zella is a little spoiler for two of my upcoming oneshots. I'm sure you might be able to figure out which ones they are from what she says.
Nicole... Nicole will have a bigger part in future chapters. I wonder if any of you can guess what is up with her. -shifty eyes- I might have an OC Info section on her up in my profile soon.
The Contestshipping has not ended. I'm just laying it off for a while since (for some strange reason) I've been having a little hard time making CS fluff... Oh, and Hoennshipping hasn't ended either. -evil laughter-
And yes, I do know that Drew is way out of character. I can't just seem to fit his character into the story so... He'll be a slight bit OOC, and you will like it either way. xD
The weird thing is... The story hasn't really started until just now. Because now all the "drama" is happening, or whatever you want to call it. Yup, it only took nine chapters to actually introduce this story. xP
So because of what I've just said, this story will be quite long... Now is when all the good action starts. -evil grin-
No spoilers this time... I really need to get to bed. It's 2:45AM. xD So there's the chapter. You've already read it. And now you probably want me to stop typing. Haha.
Happy Holidays!
I probably won't update this until after the holiday season since I'm such a horrible procrastinator. xP
